It was 75 degrees in metro Birmingham at 6 a.m. as central Alabama began a day that promises to be very hot with a projected high near 98 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

In addition, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management has set a code orange air quality alert for Shelby and Jefferson counties today. That means ground level ozone is expected to be present in amounts unhealthy for sensitive groups such as children and those with asthma. They should use caution in outdoor activities.

For Friday, the high is expected to be about 96 degrees with a 20 percent rain chance. Highs will remain in the low 90s going into the weekend but the rain chance will climb to 50 percent for Saturday and 20 percent on Sunday.

The National Weather Service also has issued notice of the season's second tropical depression. It is in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico about 160 miles southeast of Brownsville, Texas. It is projected to move northwest to bring rain to northeastern Mexico and southern Texas as it moves onto land this afternoon near the border between Mexico and Texas.